Conclusions drawn from the records of the explorers aren't evidence either; they are conjecture, speculation, and at best, educated guesses.
I respect your desire to discuss rather than debate. However, you have made and are defending a proposition. That makes it a debate by default. It need not be adversarial or acrimonious to qualify.
Yeah, I'll have to go with Dino on that one... defending a proposition is pretty much a debate.
And if I was debating, I would have to ignore any claims about records of explorers if you didn't produce the records.
Here's why: people often cite a source for something, and if you actually go look closely at the source, it will actually say something else. So if people quote a source, they need to show it. That's just being fair I think.
I'll go you one better.
Sometimes I've read that a certain source backs up MY argument, but I never looked at the original source myself.
When I finally look at it... I find out I was lied to.
I'm not saying the records are false, I'm just saying it's fair to ask for them.
And I were debating this, I'd expect to see those records.
On the other hand....
if i were debating this, on Dino's side, I wouldn't even go the direction of those records.
I think that's just a rabbit trail.... and it could all end up being irrelevant.
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